This is a very common question. Essentially, the state and federal bankruptcy laws protect individuals from creditors who are attempting to collect their monies for unpaid services or items. Depending on your financial situation, you may be eligible for certain type of bankruptcy known as Chapter 7, 11, or 13. The most common bankruptcy is Chapter 7, whereby you are legally relieved from any further financial obligation of the debts owed or owing at the time of the "discharge" of the debts. The discharge essentially relieves you from any further obligation from the date of the discharge and any potential lawsuits or further collections against you so long as you included that creditor in the bankruptcy. All collections or lawsuits are suspended during these proceedings, (from the date of the filing), in which includes foreclosures or trustee sales. This take affect on the date of the discharge of the bankruptcy.

When a person files for bankruptcy, the "automatic stay" goes into effect. The "automatic stay" typically halts law suits filed by creditors, garnishments, any other attempts at collection of a debt. The "automatic stay" goes into effect immediately upon filing the bankruptcy. You will want to consult with a bankruptcy attorney to determine whether bankruptcy is appropriate.

Bankruptcy is designed to protect you from the collection efforts of your creditors. You are allowed to keep your home, car, household goods, tools of the trade and a variety of other things. It goes into effect the minute you file it and it stops phone collectors, lawsuits, collection letters from bothering you.

When you file for bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Court issues what is known as the Automatic Stay order. This order prohibits creditors from continuing any debt collections activities such as calling, letters, garnishments, foreclosures, etc.

A bankruptcy filing stops creditor actions like foreclosures, law suits, wage garnishments, bank garnishments, repossessions and creditor phone calls. When you file a bankruptcy, something called the automatic stay goes into effect which prevents these creditor actions. It is in effect as soon as you FILE...retaining a lawyer is not enough. You have to actually file the bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy protects the debtor from all legally dischargeable debts. This includes virtually every kind of obligation incurred in the ordinary course of business or by the average person in their lifetime. That said, certain types of debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy including but not limited to taxes and family law obligations such as maintenance and child support.

There is no way to fully answer without knowing your financial details. For many people, bankruptcy, if filed right (and that means use a lawyer) will stop foreclosures, garnishments, suits and creditor calls immediarely.

Bankruptcy stops collection for any debt unless the creditor files a motion for relief from the automatic stay of bankruptcy. You can give back a vehicle or home if you owe too much, or sometimes negotiate a better arrangement with a secured creditor. No creditor will continue to report to the credit bureau, and so your credit standing will improve. You can stop a garnishment, a repossession, a foreclosure, and other legal actions. If you qualify you will discharge your obligation to pay debt and be able to start anew. The debt you are not obligated to pay under the US bankruptcy code is "discharged" and is gone.......without penalty or tax liability. Bankruptcy protects you from any action by creditors to collect debt from you. It starts upon the filing of your bankruptcy petition, and the prepetition debt cannot be collected or reported as a bad debt on your credit report. Generally, with a few exceptions, secured claims are handled differently. A secured claim such as a first mortgage or a vehicle loan must be paid or the bankruptcy filer gives up the right to keep that property.

It protects you temporarily from all legal action, including foreclosure, garnishment, levies, repossessions and contact from creditors. The protection is immediate when you file. It is automatic and that is why it is called the automatic stay and stays in effect until you get a discharge. Once you get the discharge then the bankruptcy protects you permanently from all the creditors whose claims were discharged in bankruptcy. If a claim was not discharged, such as for a student loan, then the creditor can again contact you, sue you, etc. to collect the debt.

The moment you file for bankruptcy a stay on all collection activity goes into effect. The stay goes into effect automatically, accordingly, it is called the automatic stay. The automatic stay acts as a temporary restraining order on collection activity such as creditor phone calls, collection letters, lawsuits, foreclosures, repossessions, wage garnishments, and enforcement of most judgments. The stay is in place until the case is closed either through operation of law after your discharge, or upon dismissal for cause. At the end of your case (typically in a matter of months in a Chapter 7 case) you receive a discharge. A discharge is essentially a permanent injunction on collection of certain debts, in certain ways. A discharge actually eliminates your legal responsibility for most unsecured debts, such as credit cards, medical bills, etc. It actually eliminates your personal responsibility for secured debts as well (such as a home loan or a car loan), however, the discharge alone does not extinguish the secured lenders rights to the collateral you pledged when you took out the loan (i.e., the house in the case of a mortgage or the vehicle in the case of a car loan). The lender can still foreclose on your mortgage or repossess the vehicle if you do not make your required payments. If there is a deficiency after the foreclosure or repossession, then the lender cannot recover the remaining balance due under the loan from you personally. Certain other debts are non-dischargeable. Typically priority debts (such most taxes), domestic support obligations and certain deposits are non-dischargeable. In addition, education loan obligations such as student loans and so-called parent loans survive the bankruptcy.

Can protect your assets from foreclosure . stops all collection actions and judgments from creditors including default judgments and the purpose to give you a FRESH START without the burden of massive debts.

Filing bankruptcy protects you from your creditors and it protects your assets. It prevents creditors from calling you to collect, suing you to collect on debt, reporting negative information to the credit agencies, foreclosing on your home, repossessing your car, garnishing your wages, levying your bank account or putting a lien on your property. Upon the filing of the bankruptcy an automatic stay is immediately put into place that prevents all those things from happening.

Bankruptcy protects you the instant it is filed. Attorneys file by computer. People who are pro se must file on paper in most places. When a Chapter 7 or 13 case is filed, the court automatically issuse the "Automatic Stay" to all creditors. It goes out instantly and electronically to all the creditors. If you have recent bankruptcies, the issuing of the automatic stay can be limited or not at all. That's complicated and you will need an attorney's help if you have filed in the last 8 years so you can get the protection that you want. The automatic stay orders each of your creditors to "Sit down, shut up and take a number." This does NOT depend on dischargeability. In other words, all of your creditors are ordered to stop all attempts to collect. They can't call, write or sue. If they have sued, they must freeze in place. This also stops all repos, foreclosures and garnishments. Immediately. Very cool. Failure to obey the court's order WILL result in real pain for the violator. This ain't your usual court. Creditors rarely violate the order, except by accident. This automatic stay is made permanent by the discharge that you usually receive from the court about 120 days after you file. This is all routine. If a creditor feels that it is entitled to collect its collateral or its debt, it will move for "Relief From Stay." This is routine on homes in foreclosure. Bankruptcy Court offers protection like nothing else on the planet.

When your bankruptcy petition is filed with the court your creditors are notified and must stop all attempts at collection until the court determines which debts will be discharged. A discharge is a permanent injunction against a creditor preventing any and all attempts to collect or bring a legal claim against you for a debt. You should consult with a bankruptcy attorney to determine if bankruptcy is the best option for resolving your financial problems and to determine the type of bankruptcy for which you qualify.

The debtor is no longer legally required to pay any debts that are discharged. The discharge is a permanent order prohibiting the creditors of the debtor from taking any form of collection action on discharged debts, including legal action and communications with the debtor, such as telephone calls, letters, and personal contacts. Although a debtor is not personally liable for discharged debts, a valid lien (i.e., a charge upon specific property to secure payment of a debt) that has not been avoided (i.e., made unenforceable) in the bankruptcy case will remain after the bankruptcy case. Therefore, a secured creditor may enforce the lien to recover the property secured by the lien.

Filing BK has many benefits. It puts an immediate stop to collection efforts, ranging from harassing phone calls to garnishment, repossession or foreclosure. In the long term a BK will discharge all dischargeable debt. If you choose to file under Chapter 13 you can deal with mortgage arrears and tax debt. The court issues a Notice of Automatic Stay the day you file your case. The auto stay stops the collection efforts. It is effective immediately.

Ask a Local Attorney

Disclaimer: The information found on this website is intended to be general legal information; it is not legal advice. Specific legal advice can only be given with full knowledge of all of the facts and circumstances of your situation. You should seek consultation with an attorney familiar with the laws of your state. Posting a question on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. All questions you post will be available to the public; do not include confidential information in your question.